Ms Shu-Ling Chen1, Mrs Ying-Ling Chen1, M.D. Po-An Su2, M.D. Hung-Jen Tang3
1Infection Control Department, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan, 2Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan, 3Office of the Superintendent, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan
Biography:
With a foundational background in nursing and 8 years of pediatric care experience, the presenter has served as an infection control professional at a major medical center for 22 years. She actively drives institutional hand hygiene campaigns and implements evidence-based practices to ensure clinical quality and patient safety.
Abstract:
Background/Aim
In Taiwan’s resource-limited healthcare system, conventional hand hygiene promotion relying on audits and PDCA reports often causes audit fatigue among frontline staff. Misconceptions that glove use can replace hand hygiene also remain common. This project aimed to enhance awareness of hand hygiene after glove removal through a gamified, incentive-driven hospital-wide competition at a 1,296-bed medical center in southern Taiwan.
Methods
The Hospital’s Hand Hygiene Promotion Committee launched a gamified competition titled “2026 Hand Hygiene Task Force.” A Microsoft Forms platform embedded the WHO hand hygiene video (World Hand Hygiene Day 2025) and four key knowledge questions. To maximize participation, a dual incentive and competition-based scoring system was adopted. Staff achieving full scores entered a gift voucher raffle, while team scores were determined by diversity of staff category participation, with additional weighting for physician participation, encouraging involvement from healthcare workers and outsourced staff.
Results
From May 5~20, 2,338 responses were collected, with 2,020 full-score completions (47.9% participation). The gamified approach stimulated discussion, corrected glove-related misconceptions, and promoted WHO hand hygiene principles without increasing administrative burden.
Conclusion
A gamified, incentive-driven multidisciplinary competition effectively fostered a bottom-up hand hygiene culture in a resource-limited hospital setting. Beyond improving knowledge, the approach enhanced engagement across professional groups, strengthened teamwork, and demonstrated that creative, low-cost strategies can sustain infection prevention momentum. This model may serve as a replicable framework for other institutions seeking innovative ways to reinforce hand hygiene practices.